[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3692-H3699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM ACT
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1300, I call up
the bill (H.R. 1329) to permit the Smithsonian American Women's History
Museum to be located within the Reserve of the National Mall, and for
other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1300, the
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on
House Administration, printed in this bill, modified by the amendment
printed in part B of House Report 119-653, is adopted and the bill, as
amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 1329
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Smithsonian American Women's
History Museum Act''.
[[Page H3693]]
SEC. 2. SITE OF SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM.
(a) Authorizing Site Within Reserve of National Mall.--
Section 107(d) of division T of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-5(d)) is amended by
striking ``, except that'' and all that follows and inserting
a period.
(b) Site Designation.--Section 107(a) of division T of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-5(a)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--The site for the Museum is hereby
designated as the South Monument site, located on the
National Mall, bordered by 14th Street Southwest, Jefferson
Drive Southwest, Raoul Wallenberg Place Southwest, and
Independence Avenue Southwest, except that the President may
designate an alternative site for the Museum within 180 days
of the date of the enactment of this subsection.''.
(c) Use of Site.--
(1) Transfer.--Section 107(b) of division T of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-5(b)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Transfer of Site.--As soon as practicable after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the head of the
Federal agency or entity shall transfer to the Smithsonian
Institution its administrative jurisdiction over the land
described in subsection (a).''.
(2) Building requirements.--Section 107(c) of division T of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-
5(c)) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Building.--
``(1) In general.--The Board of Regents, in consultation
with the head of the Federal agency or entity and the council
established under section 104 and with the approval of the
Commission of Fine Arts, National Capital Planning
Commission, the National Capital Memorial Advisory
Commission, and the head of the Federal agency or entity, may
plan, design, and construct a building for the Museum, which
shall be located at the site described in subsection (a).
``(2) Criteria.--In considering site and design proposals,
the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning
Commission, the National Capital Memorial Advisory
Commission, and the head of the Federal agency or entity
shall be guided by, but not limited to the following
criteria:
``(A) The Museum shall be located so that to the maximum
extent practicable, it protects the open space, existing
public use, and cultural and natural resources.
``(B) The Museum shall be constructed of durable material
suitable to the outdoor environment.
``(C) Landscape features of the Museum shall be compatible
with the climate.
``(D) The National Capital Planning Commission and the
Commission of Fine Arts may develop such criteria or
guidelines specific to each site that are mutually agreed
upon to ensure that the design of the Museum carries out the
purposes of this section.''.
(3) Expenses.--Section 107 of division T of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-5) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Expenses.--The Smithsonian Institution shall
reimburse within 60 days any and all costs incurred by the
head of the Federal agency or entity for implementation of
any recommendations resulting from the approval process
described in subsection (c).''.
(d) Museum Purpose.--Section 103 of division T of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-1) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Scope of Mission.--
``(1) In general.--The Museum shall be dedicated to
preserving, researching, and presenting the history,
achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in
the United States.
``(2) Prohibition.--The Museum may not identify, present,
describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as a
female.''.
(e) Ensuring a Range of Political Viewpoints and Authentic
Experiences.--Section 104(b)(4) of division T of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t-2(b)(4))
is amended to read as follows:
``(4) Ensuring a Range of political viewpoints and
authentic experiences.--
``(A) In general.--The Council shall ensure that the
exhibits and programs of the Museum reflect, to the extent
practicable, an equal representation of a range of the
political viewpoints and authentic experiences held by women
in the United States, accurately and comprehensively
representing the varied cultures, histories, events, and
values held by such women.
``(B) Specific requirements.--In carrying out its duties,
the Council shall ensure that it seeks and utilizes to its
maximum ability guidance from a broad array of knowledgeable
and respected sources reflecting a range of the political
viewpoints and authentic experiences held by women in the
United States, and shall seek such guidance for both the
creation and substantial revision of exhibits and programs.
``(C) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `broad array' means a range of experts and
publications that represent the broad spectrum of communities
of women, to include varied viewpoints, political ideologies,
cultures, and lived experiences in the United States; and
``(ii) the term `knowledgeable and respected source' means
an individual who has gained through education, publication,
or witnessing an important or historical event, the ability
to advise on at least one unique viewpoint or experience of a
particular community of women in the United States, and whose
knowledge has been relied upon by a notable segment of that
community for education, heritage preservation, or historical
purposes, and includes the work of such an individual which
reflects such ability and knowledge.''.
(f) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act and every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary of the Smithsonian shall submit to
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate, the Committee on House
Administration of the House of Representatives, the Committee
on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate a report on actions taken by the Director of the
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and the Council
of the Museum to comply with the requirements of the
amendments made by subsection (f), including a description of
actions taken with respect to substantial revisions of
current exhibits and programs as well the planning of future
exhibits and programs.
(g) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall take effect as if included in the
enactment of title I of division T of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (20 U.S.C. 80t et seq.).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debated for 1
hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on House Administration, or their respective
designees.
The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) and the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Morelle) will each control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil).
{time} 1320
General Leave
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American
Women's History Museum Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative
Malliotakis, from New York.
This year, our Nation marks its 250th birthday. It has been 250 years
since we declared independence. As we celebrate this milestone, I think
it is all the more worthy that we pass this bill and begin construction
of the museum dedicated to the history of American women.
Throughout our history, women have played a pivotal role in so many
of our Nation's most celebrated achievements and innovations. In my
home State of Wisconsin, three women participated in the famous 1854
meeting at the Ripon schoolhouse, where the Republican Party was born.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud to support previous legislation authorizing
the creation of this museum. Today's bill takes the important next step
by designating an exact location on The National Mall. Additionally, it
creates guardrails to ensure this museum does not represent history in
a partisan way.
I thank Representative Malliotakis for her work on this bill and her
continued support to get this to the floor. She has been tenacious in a
great way to get us to this spot. I thank her for her hard work.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I have said it before, and I will say it again: The
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum is long overdue, and it
deserves a place on The National Mall, period, end of sentence.
The National Mall is America's front yard. It is the place we welcome
visitors from all over the world. The Smithsonian is where we gather
the stories, ideas, inventions, and memories that make us who we are.
It is where we keep what matters to our large and, yes, very diverse
American family. It is where our Nation tells its story, and American
women have shaped every chapter of that story.
This is why I enthusiastically supported the bipartisan version of
H.R. 1329, produced by my Republican colleague and friend from New
York, Representative Nicole Malliotakis, along with her companion bill,
H.R. 1330, related to the National Museum of the American Latino.
Together, those bills would resolve a statutory anomaly that has
stalled both museums and allow them to move
[[Page H3694]]
forward on The Mall as Congress intended.
The bipartisan legislation is a simple, straightforward fix with 231
cosponsors in this House, including over 100 Members from each side of
the aisle.
For some reason, that is not the bill we are debating. I am saddened
and disappointed that the Republican majority has needlessly
politicized what has for years been a bipartisan priority.
The hyperpartisan museum bill we are debating right now differs from
the original legislation in four primary and important ways.
First, it omits the National Museum of the American Latino, which has
been paired with the women's history museum since they were both
authorized together in 2020.
Second, for reasons that pass all understanding, it grants the
President of the United States unprecedented, unilateral, and unchecked
authority to disregard the Smithsonian's recommended site and the
Congress' recommended site for any reason, or for no reason at all, and
pick his own.
Third, it hands control over design and construction to boards
stacked with political loyalists who have already shown they will
rubberstamp whatever the President wants. To see evidence of that, look
no further than the pile of rubble that used to be the White House East
Wing.
Fourth, it inserts an ideological poison pill intended to dictate
what the museum can and cannot say about women's history.
Mr. Speaker, we deal with a lot of complicated issues around here
that require complex solutions. This is not one of them. There is a
Republican-led bipartisan bill just sitting here with 231 cosponsors,
including 104 Republican Members. We could pass that bill on suspension
right now.
The American people will be baffled, as I am, that my Republican
colleagues have chosen this route instead, especially since, in 2019,
Democrats accepted a Republican amendment requiring the museum to
reflect ``the diversity of the political viewpoints held by women of
the United States.''
Virtually identical language appears in this bill--ironically, right
next to the provision that explicitly excludes political viewpoints
held by women of the United States. I guess it should have explicitly
read: the diversity of political viewpoints held by Republicans alone.
If the goal were actually to move this museum forward, we would not
be abandoning the yearslong bipartisan process that has brought us to
the brink of construction. We would not be considering a bill with a
cynical, ideological poison pill. We would not exclude the Latino
museum. We would not allow boards filled with Trump loyalists to have
final say on the museum's design and construction. We would certainly
not be giving President Donald Trump, of all people, unchecked
authority to pick a location for the women's history museum. We would
not be spending time debating a bill destined to fail.
Ask yourselves: Who should decide what appears in a Smithsonian
museum, where it goes, and what it looks like? Should it be historians,
scholars, and curators who, for 180 years, have made the Smithsonian
the premier museum complex in the world, hosting 15 million visitors
per year? Is that who it should be? Or a politician who complains
publicly that the Smithsonian focuses too much on ``how bad slavery
was'' and who has taken a literal wrecking ball to some of our most
dignified and important landmarks in this country, a politician who
uses our cultural institutions to rewrite history and hand out no-bid
government contracts to his friends? That is the question before us.
If House Republicans want the museum to succeed, the path ahead is
straightforward and easy. Bring the clean bipartisan fix with its 231
cosponsors to the floor, pair it with the Latino museum as we have done
for years, and let the historians and experts do the work of telling
the full and complex story of American women.
This legislation does the exact opposite. It takes a bill, the narrow
purpose of which is to specify a museum location, and throws even more
uncertainty into that very question. It makes literally no sense.
Mr. Speaker, I will conclude where I began: The National Mall is
where we welcome visitors from around the world, of all types. Everyone
comes here. The Smithsonian is where we mark what makes us who we are.
They belong to the American people, and the American people deserve
both the women's history museum and the National Museum of the American
Latino on The National Mall that tells their stories without political
interference.
For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I
urge the majority to bring the bipartisan bill that 104 Members of
their Conference have cosponsored to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleague that Democratic leadership had the
full opportunity in the 117th Congress to bring forward this
legislation. They chose not to. They used their time to do things like
rename the Cannon Caucus Room after the current Speaker in the 117th
Congress. That is just a reminder of the importance that this bill has
on our side.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from New York (Ms. Malliotakis) to speak on the bill.
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Steil for helping us
advance this bill to the floor. He knows very well the role that his
State of Wisconsin played in being the first to ratify the 19th
Amendment.
We are here today because we are voting on a very simple bill. It is
a bill to transfer land on The National Mall for the Smithsonian
American Women's History Museum, which was already authorized by
Congress, overwhelmingly bipartisan, in 2020, and signed by President
Donald J. Trump.
{time} 1330
Mr. Speaker, this bill, as my colleague has mentioned, had over 230
sponsors. It is very bipartisan, and I think we all agree that it is
long past time that the women of this country, who make up more than
half of the population, deserve to have a museum that tells their
stories and shares their contributions to our great country.
Women like Rosie the Riveter and the millions of women who stepped
onto our factory floors during World War II; the more than 10,000 code
girls of Arlington Hall, who were secretly recruited by the U.S. Army
and Navy during World War II to serve as code breakers; the 855 women
of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black, all-female battalion
deployed overseas during World War II; the Black Angels of my district,
who were courageous nurses who, at the height of segregation, worked
toward and did find the cure for tuberculosis; the first female Member
of Congress, Jeannette Rankin; Susan B. Anthony and the suffragists,
the great role that they played in our Nation's history, they are who
we are here to honor today.
Yes, we have more than enough women to display in this museum that we
shouldn't be fighting over the need to have nonbiological individuals
in there.
I don't understand why we are pulling bipartisan support from
legislation to establish this museum. As a matter of fact, let me read
it so that everybody at home knows exactly what this debate is over. It
is over one sentence: ``The Museum shall be dedicated to preserving,
researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived
experiences of biological women in the United States.''
That is what the disagreement is about. That is what the big
controversy is about.
I hate to alert my friends on the other side of the aisle, but a
museum dedicated to women's history should have women in it. That is
it. That is simple. That was just something that, through this process,
regular order, going through the committee process, a Member put
forward an amendment. It was adopted by the majority of the members on
the committee, and it added that simple provision.
The idea that President Trump--by the way because Democrats are
saying that the National Planning Commission is now a Trump commission.
This is a commission that was established by Congress over 100 years
ago. It is not a new commission. In fact, the President only has three
appointees to that 12-person commission. To say that
[[Page H3695]]
he has complete control is just simply not true.
I really hope that some of my colleagues on the other side of the
aisle will join us on this because it would be sad to see that all of
the Democrats would vote down this important bill.
Yet, I will say that it was a Republican Senator who introduced the
19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
It was a Republican Congress that passed the 19th Amendment to give
women the right to vote.
It was a majority of GOP States that gave women the right to vote
when they ratified that amendment.
It was a GOP President who gave us Title IX, which prohibited sex-
based discrimination in the educational programs.
And, yes, it was President Donald Trump, a Republican, who authorized
this museum in 2020.
If Republicans have to carry the water again to deliver for the women
of America, we will do so, but I really hope that this can remain a
bipartisan measure.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate my colleague and friend, Ms.
Malliotakis, and her comments.
But the truth is, I don't, first of all, think anyone who lives in
Rochester, New York, the home of Susan B. Anthony, just to the west of
Seneca Falls, needs to be told about the history of the women's
suffrage movement in the United States or the fact that Susan B.
Anthony was arrested in 1872 for voting in a Presidential election.
We are well-steeped in it, and we think this ought to be a museum
that is curated by scholars and by women and those groups.
The location of this, which was identified in a bipartisan bill--and
the suggestion that somehow we now are not supporting or withholding
our support for a bipartisan bill is simply wrong.
Actually, that would be the simple thing to do, to put the bipartisan
bill on the floor. I don't know what the objection to it is, except
that it doesn't have the following language, and this is really what it
is all about, and I will read from the bill:
``The site for the Museum is hereby designated as the South Monument
site, located on The National Mall, bordered by 14th Street Southwest,
Jefferson Drive, Southwest, Raoul Wallenberg Place Southwest, and
Independence Avenue Southwest, except that the President may designate
an alternative site for the Museum within 180 days of the date of the
enactment of this subsection.''
The extraneous portion that was added basically takes away everything
the previous sentence said. Everything the bipartisan bill was intended
to do is identify this location. But for reasons, as I said earlier,
that surpass all understanding, we are now going to give the President
of the United States complete, unilateral, unchecked power to make this
decision.
It makes no sense. It is not a bipartisan bill. In fact, if you want
to have this resolved, you could eliminate that portion of the bill,
and we could just do the simple sentence under the bipartisan bill,
which has 104 Republican sponsors of it. We could do that. We could do
that right now.
That bill is already in print. Ms. Malliotakis is actually the
sponsor of that bill, so I would be happy to support that bill of hers.
But don't suggest for a minute that this is a bipartisan bill because
it is not. It is actually the most hyperpartisan of bills, all intended
to make sure that the President is happy with the location of the
museum and give him the complete power over Congress to make that
decision.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute the gentleman from California (Mr.
Takano), my dear friend.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this amended bill. I
was a proud cosponsor of the bill, as introduced. Yet, instead of
moving the bipartisan text, Republicans have hijacked this bill to give
President Trump complete and total authority over the Smithsonian
American Women's History Museum's location. Contrary to what
Congresswoman Malliotakis has asserted, he does have loyalists who have
power over the museum's design. He does have loyalists on the
commission, which will determine the museum's design.
The museum was supposed to be a celebration of every American woman's
contribution, but, of course, Republicans couldn't help themselves from
adding text that would prohibit trans women from being included in the
museum. This is really a harmful provision that will undoubtedly lead
many conservatives to challenge the inclusion of any woman they deem
not feminine enough.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and pass the
original bipartisan bill with the National Museum of the American
Latino.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Lee), also a member of the House Administration Committee,
to speak on this bill.
Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the
creation of a Smithsonian museum dedicated to the history of American
women. I thank Chairman Steil and Representative Malliotakis for their
leadership in this important effort.
Before coming to Congress, I had the privilege of serving as
Florida's Secretary of State. In that role, I oversaw our State's
museums, archives, and historical resources, and I gained a deep
appreciation for the importance of preserving our history carefully and
telling it well.
Museums are not simply collections of artifacts. They are places
where we remember who we are, where we came from, and the values that
shaped this Nation. The story of America cannot be fully told without
the story of American women.
From the earliest days of our country, women have helped to build
families, communities, and institutions. They served in times of war,
advanced science and medicine, strengthened our economy, and helped
expand the promise of liberty for future generations.
Today, women serve in leadership roles across every aspect of
American life, but much of that progress in America is relatively
recent. As someone who has spent much of my career in fields
historically dominated by men, I know personally how meaningful it is
when young women can see the stories of those who came before them.
As an example, since the founding of our Nation, roughly 12,000
Americans have served in the United States Congress. Yet, only about
450 of them have been women. Hearing and sharing the stories of those
women will no doubt pave the path for the talented generation to come
of women leaders in America.
{time} 1340
Representation matters, and so does remembrance. The stories we
preserve shape what the next generation believes is possible. This
museum will tell the story of countless women, teachers, entrepreneurs,
scientists, soldiers, mothers, and public servants whose perseverance
and courage helped shape this Nation.
It is disappointing that some Democrats are opposing this museum
because it is dedicated to the history and achievements of biological
women when we should be coming together to honor the women who helped
shape this Nation.
As the mother of a daughter, I think often about the examples that
she sees and the stories that she learns about the women who helped
shape this country. May she know us, may she and all of the other young
women like her see what is possible, and may they go further than we
ever dreamed.
When young girls walk through the Smithsonian and see the
contributions of women woven into the fabric of our national history,
they will understand something important: that they, too, are
foundational to the American story.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Florida.
Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the day when all
Americans can visit a museum that honors the remarkable legacy of women
in the United States. For these reasons, I support this effort, and I
encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I will say I find it rather astonishing that we feel the
need here to give a lot of advice and counsel
[[Page H3696]]
to the Smithsonian Institution about how to appropriately build and
operate a museum, to curate a museum--I don't know if anybody has
been--and, by the way, they do museums really well. We are supposed to
pass legislation, which we don't even do that well, and now we are
going to tell them how to run museums.
I would just encourage my friends, if you haven't, the Smithsonian
runs a number of museums in town--one on American history, one on
African Americans, one on American Indians, one on natural history, one
on air and space. Fifteen million people come to them.
In the 8 years I have been privileged to be a Member of Congress, I
have never once had a constituent or anybody else stop me and say, you
know, I really have some advice to give to the Smithsonian Institution
about how to run museums. I think they do it exceptionally well.
In fact, I would argue that the Smithsonian Institution is the
greatest museum complex anywhere in the world. It is an extraordinary
place, free to Americans and others who come from other places to see
the American experience. I don't think they need, really, a whole lot
of help from Members of the United States House of Representatives on
how to run museums. Let's let them do that. Let's let academicians,
scholars, historians, and museum curators do that.
All we are supposed to do here is say where the location of the
museum is to be located. That is the one issue in front of us. Talk
about making complex a simple issue. People will be baffled and
scratching their heads to watch this debate should they ever watch this
debate because this is a simple, simple matter, and we should not
complicate this. Let's identify the location, and let's let the
Smithsonian Institution do what they do better than any other
organization in the world.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington
(Ms. Randall), my dear friend and colleague.
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act, as amended. Frankly,
that is disappointing because this bill used to be a bipartisan success
story.
Democrats and Republicans came together to support creating both the
American Women's History Museum and the National Museum of the American
Latino on The National Mall, but instead of building on that bipartisan
agreement, this bill was turned into another political power grab with
a last-minute partisan amendment in committee.
Republicans inserted culture war language limiting the museum to
biological women. That language was not added to improve the museum. It
was added to erase trans women from American history.
Whether my Republican colleagues want to acknowledge it or not, trans
women are just as much a part of this country's history as anyone else.
Museums are supposed to expand our understanding, preserve truth, and
reflect the full complexity of this country.
They went even a step further to corrupt this bill, handing President
Trump extraordinary control over museum design and planning. Congress
should not hand any President unilateral power over how American
history is told, especially after we have seen this administration
pressure institutions and whitewash history.
This legislation also leaves behind the National Museum of the
American Latino, even though Congress established both museums together
under the same law. Let's be honest about why. We are watching a
systematic effort by Republicans and this administration to strip out
uncomfortable truths and erase marginalized communities.
``But Latino history is American history''; ``Pero la historia de los
Latinos es la historia americana.''
It is not secondary. It is not optional.
For all these reasons, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion
to recommit this bill back to committee.
If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an
important amendment to this bill.
My amendment would have stripped out the exclusionary language
targeting trans women, moved the Women's History Museum and the
National Museum of the American Latino forward together, as Congress
originally intended, and block this dangerous power grab that hands
President Trump unilateral control.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this
amendment into the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion
to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting
for the motion to recommit.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Mrs. Cammack), the mother of Augusta, to speak on the bill.
Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from the great
State of Wisconsin for his leadership on this issue.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American
Women's History Museum Act, and I want to start by recognizing my
colleague Nicole Malliotakis for her tenacity and her leadership in
bringing this legislation to the floor. I thank Nicole for never
backing down or giving up.
As you can see, I have my daughter, Augusta Dair, here with me today
because I wanted her to be a witness to this incredible moment in our
Nation's history where we stood up for all of the women who have helped
build this country and told their stories.
That is what this museum is. It is not a political statement. It is a
promise, a promise that the women who came before us will not be
erased, will not be minimized, and will not be forgotten.
We all know--or at least I thought we knew--that women's history is
not a partisan issue. It is American history, full stop. Now, the women
whose stories will be told in this museum, I want you to think about
what they went through. It wasn't that long ago--1974--that a woman
couldn't open a credit card in her own name without her husband's
signature. Before that, she couldn't serve on a jury, and before that,
she couldn't vote.
Yet, these women, extraordinary, stubborn, gritty, American women,
they didn't quit. They persevered. They built something anyway. Now, if
that is not an American story, I don't know what is. Quite frankly, it
is that story that deserves to be told and have a place on our National
Mall.
As Chairwoman of the Republican Women's Caucus, I have had the honor
of standing alongside some of the most incredible women who fight every
single day not for headlines but for the next generation of girls who
need them to know that hard work, courage, and grit will take them
further than anyone can ever tell them they couldn't go before.
We believe that these women deserve to be honored, proudly, without
political manipulation, which is why I am genuinely baffled that the
Democratic Women's Caucus has chosen to oppose this bill. Their
reasoning for opposing the bill is because we want biological women's
stories to be told--that we want a museum to be dedicated to women, to
celebrate women? That is the controversy, Mr. Speaker?
Forgive me, but this issue should never have become partisan. It is
common sense. Biological women deserve to have their stories told.
For those who say that this gives the President too much say about
what is happening with this museum, that is just nonsense.
Representative Malliotakis has already refuted the claim that the
President will have that type of power. He cannot.
What this bill does is ensure accountability over a federally funded
institution that will represent American history for generations. The
Smithsonian belongs to the American people, not to political activists,
not to ideological agendas.
I know that millions of women around the country right now are
standing with us, and they will not apologize for standing up for
women; not today and not ever.
{time} 1350
I am here right now on the House floor with my daughter, Augusta
Dair, and I can only do this because of the women who came before me.
It is those women we strive to honor: the pioneers, the mothers, the
scientists, the
[[Page H3697]]
servicemembers, the entrepreneurs, the educators, the ones who broke
barriers before it was fashionable, and the ones who never got a thank-
you. They deserve this. Every little girl in America deserves this.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the political noise
around this bill, pass this legislation, and ensure that future
generations like little Augusta's can walk through these Halls, if she
chooses to, and know without question what American women are made of.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
To quote Mrs. Cammack, whom I have great respect for, women's history
``is American history, full stop.'' I completely agree, and I am
delighted to see her and her daughter in her maiden speech in front of
the House talk about the importance of women in American history. I
completely agree with that, as well.
What I find perplexing is that the construction of this museum has
been held up now for several years since its authorization, because
Congress could not reconcile the fact that we hadn't fully identified a
location for the museum. That is the only thing that prevents the
construction of this museum from moving forward. We have a bipartisan
solution to address just that, the exact location of where this museum
should be built.
I think the question that needs to be answered in this moment is why
we are not doing that bill. It has 231 cosponsors, a majority of this
House, and over 100 Members on both sides of the aisle. It is simple
and straightforward.
Why aren't we doing that? Why are we here? Why do we have to debate
for the balance of an hour a bill that is so simple to pass and has
broad support?
It is because this bill was rewritten by the White House. This bill
was rewritten so that not a woman but a man, and, frankly, a man with
something of a questionable history toward women, would have the final
say.
By the way, if he didn't like the location that we have identified in
this bill, he has a way to raise his objections called veto the bill.
He could veto it if he didn't like the location, and then we would
negotiate.
The Article I prerogative of the Congress is to pass laws. That is
what we should be doing, but what we have done is, we have managed to
twist ourselves into a pretzel just to satisfy the President so that
the President can look at the location that Congress by, law would,
like to make clear and say: I don't like that after all. Sorry,
Congress. Thank you for your input, but go away. I, Donald Trump, will
decide unilaterally where the women's history museum will go. Forget
about the 435 Members of the House. Forget about the 100 Members of the
Senate. We appreciate your input, like little children. Now, go away. I
will make the decision.
That is what is going to happen. That is what this bill is. If that
is not the case, I would love to hear a single word of explanation
about why we are not doing the bill that has broad bipartisan support
that specifically says where this museum will be located on The
National Mall, on America's front yard.
Why is that not the case? Why are we here? We can dance around it. We
can talk about the contributions of women. Certainly, no one on this
side of the aisle would ever, ever spend any time disputing that. We
are in complete agreement, which is why we have over 100 sponsors for
the bill on our side of the aisle, as well.
The question is, and the question that people watching will want
answered, is: Why aren't you doing that bill?
I will be eagerly listening for an explanation as to why the
bipartisan bill with 231 cosponsors, which specifically says where this
museum should be, the exact location, and why we are not doing that
bill.
I will sit quietly and listen. Maybe not so quietly, but I will sit
and listen. I am looking for one word of explanation about why that is
not the case. Until that time, I will reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz) to speak on the bill.
Ms. De La CRUZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding, and I
thank Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis for working so hard to get this
piece of legislation on the floor today.
I stand proudly to support H.R. 1329, the bipartisan Smithsonian
American Women's History Museum Act, as an original cosponsor.
For 30 years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have worked
together to establish a space that carries on the legacy of the
American women who fought tirelessly for our rights. It is absolutely
unacceptable that any Member would oppose this bill because they want a
biological male, a man, to be honored in the space designed for women,
biological women.
Any vote that opposes this legislation undermines every woman who
fought for our right to vote, our right to own a home, our right to
attend college, and even our right to own our paychecks.
Ultimately, I represent a community that understands the difference
between a man and a woman, a community that respects women, a community
that will be proud that today and always they can count on me to stand
up for biological women and stand up for common sense.
Common sense, let's think about that. Let's think about common sense,
which obviously my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not
have and lost along the way.
Today, I will ``with pride''; ``con orgullo'' vote ``yes'' on this
bill. I will vote ``yes'' on this legislation. I will vote ``yes'' for
my ``grandmother''; ``abuelita,'' who is in Heaven smiling down, and
``for my mother''; ``para mi mama,'' who is watching right now on C-
SPAN ``with pride''; ``con orgullo,'' watching her daughter speak on
behalf of women here in America, to tell our story, to share
our history, women's history.
I will vote ``yes'' for this legislation. I will vote ``yes'' for
biological women. Today, I will vote ``yes'' for common sense.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I appreciate the gentlewoman's comments. It is interesting she began
her comments by citing the bipartisan bill that isn't before the House,
the bipartisan bill that I am urging us to pass, the bipartisan bill
that has over 100 sponsors on the Republican side of the aisle and over
100 sponsors on the Democratic side of the aisle.
She used that frame even though that is not the bill before the
House. Of course, she could not offer an explanation as to why the bill
that she cited actually isn't before the House, and instead, we have a
hyperpartisan bill that gives Donald Trump unilateral power to decide
where this museum is going.
I would also note that among the rights that she talked about for
women, the right to vote, et cetera, she didn't mention the right to
control their own bodies. You know why? Because we have taken that away
from women. This Supreme Court and this President have taken away the
right of women so that my grandchildren, my granddaughters, have fewer
rights than my mother did, than their grandmother and their great-
grandmother had. We didn't talk about that if we are going to talk
about the rights of women and how important it is to support women in
this country. We didn't talk about why this bill is going to end up
with no museum being built because we insist on giving unilateral power
to Donald Trump to decide all things that the Congress should be
deciding.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Chu).
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to Republicans'
partisan version of my previously bipartisan bill, the Smithsonian
American Women's History Museum Act.
Today should have been a celebration of success after years of
bipartisan collaboration and good faith negotiations on a bill that I
was proud to be a leader on, ensuring that women receive their rightful
recognition in our Nation's Capital.
Instead, Republicans threw all of that away by unilaterally making
extremist changes to our once bipartisan bill, giving President Trump
the power to decide the location, the design, and even the content of
this museum.
This completely undermines our bill's original intent. This museum is
about honoring the prolific contributions that women have made to this
[[Page H3698]]
country. Instead, Republicans have disgraced this process and,
embarrassingly, made it entirely about one man, Donald Trump.
Mr. Speaker, women deserve better, and I urge my colleagues to vote
``no.''
{time} 1400
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Guest). The gentleman from Wisconsin has
13 minutes remaining.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis), who is the author of the
bill.
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify some points and
answer some of the questions of my colleague. This is like the good old
times in the New York State Assembly. Mr. Morelle and I had fun
debating there, as well.
First of all, let me say that this bill is actually site-specific. It
does include the quadrants of the site that was selected by the
American Women's History Museum Advisory Council. The original version,
which we have introduced, did not have those specific quadrants. It did
not specify a specific site. It just allowed for a future selected site
to be transferred.
In that case, there was no clarity on what the site was, so we
amended the bill to add the specific quadrants of the south Capitol
site on The National Mall so it would be clear that it is the selected
site of the museum's advisory council.
Yes, it does give 180 days for the President, if necessary, to alter.
That is because if, for some reason, there is a problem with that site,
and it turns out we can't build on it, if the engineers come back and
say that there is a problem, that it can't be built on, then we don't
want to have to go through this entire process and have to pass another
piece of legislation. We would just all work together to select a site
that would be suitable.
In terms of specificity, this bill actually gives more clarity on the
location than the initial version.
That is the only thing that has changed, that provision, as well as
adding the sentence about ensuring that it is biological women. That
was amended in the committee process.
As I said, every piece of legislation is introduced here. We garnered
230 cosponsors. It went to the committee. The committee went through
regular order. Somebody had an amendment, and the amendment passed.
Therefore, it was added. That was added as a result to ensure that
there is clarity that only biological women would be represented in a
women's museum.
I also want to address this issue about the National Capital Planning
Commission. This is not President Donald Trump's commission. This was a
commission that was established over 100 years ago, in which the
President gets only three appointees. The commission is a 12-member
Federal body.
Obviously, anything that is built as a Capital project goes through
this commission. It is not as if it is a new commission that was set up
by this particular President. Both this commission and the Fine Arts
Commission were established well over a century ago, and the 12-member
makeup of this is 3 appointees only by the President. That is not a
majority. That is not giving the President unanimous control.
The Mayor of Washington, D.C., gets an appointment. The chair of the
D.C. Council gets an appointment. The House and Senate committee chairs
with the D.C. jurisdiction, their committees get an appointment. The
heads of the DOD, Interior, and GSA get an appointment. There are two
mayoral appointees. That is the makeup of this.
I know sometimes my colleagues on the other side may have a little
difficulty with math. We see that during the budgeting, where they want
to spend more than we can afford. Three is not the majority in a
commission of 12.
Please stop lying and saying that the commission is being controlled
by one particular man. That is simply not the case.
I just wanted to give those clarifying points.
Again, I want to reiterate that I am very proud that it is the
Republican Party that is putting forward this legislation. This was
authorized, again, by President Trump in 2020. President Joe Biden had
4 years to move this ball forward and to designate the land. He did not
do it, so we are here today with the same President who authorized the
women's museum, President Donald J. Trump.
What I will say is that they claim, the other side, to be the party
of women, yet it is the Republican Party that introduced the 19th
Amendment and that passed the 19th Amendment. It was majority
Republican-led States that ratified the 19th Amendment.
Title IX is so important to women in our colleges, female athletes,
and all educational programs. That was signed into law by a Republican
President.
Yes, it is a Republican President today who has authorized the
women's history museum, and it will be a Republican majority in
Congress that gets this done. That is because, for 4 years, the other
side, when they had control, failed to do so.
I still hope that this will be a bipartisan vote. It really should
be. There is no reason for this not to come out of this House today and
to celebrate the women of America.
We can all be proud of women who have contributed from our respective
States to the building of this Nation. As my colleague said, there have
been so many struggles over the years, whether it be the right to vote
or whether it be to apply for a credit card without needing a male
cosigner. Women weren't allowed to be on a jury. They weren't allowed
to attend a military academy. These are stories that need to be told.
Sadly, the current generation and future generations may take a lot
for granted. We don't know the history of the struggles that women have
endured.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that we can come out of this today with a
bipartisan vote in support. Let's get this museum done, and let's do
something that we can all be proud of as Americans.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 9 minutes
remaining.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we could do this bill, get this done, and make clear
where this museum is supposed to be. All we have to do is pass the
bipartisan bill.
If we want to amend it with this exact location, if that is what Ms.
Malliotakis is suggesting, then I am happy to do that, but there are so
many things that she said that I have to respond to.
First of all, President Biden couldn't do this because Congress has
created in the authorizing legislation this anomaly, so we need
Congress to be able to specify the location, which is the point of the
bipartisan bill, which has over 230 sponsors on both sides of the
aisle. We could do that. This is simple, but that is not what is here.
By the way, just to remind the gentlewoman in case she is not clear,
the chairperson of the NCPC, which has responsibility here, the chair
of that is the current White House staff secretary, William Scharf. It
is the President's employee who runs it.
By the way, anyone who believes that the President has much regard
for the law or how these things should go should just look at the pile
of rubble that is the East Wing of the White House, where the President
defied tradition, common sense, and appropriateness and just knocked
down one of the most historic sections of the most historic building in
the world and is building it without anyone's contributions, without
any appropriate guardrails, and without any appropriate oversight. That
is because, let's face it, that is what this President does.
Mr. Speaker, I do want to go back. I am sorry. I thought I read this
into the Record, but just to be clear, if people think this is an exact
location, then they should read it to the end. After we identify the
site, it says: ``except that the President may designate an alternative
site for the museum within 180 days of the date of the enactment of
this subsection.''
That is a little like when I was in high school, saying to my father:
Can I stay out late? He would say: Yes, unless I say you can't. Does
that mean I can stay out late? It only means I can stay out late if he
gives me permission.
We are going to put it at this site. We have it specifically here.
Ms.
[[Page H3699]]
Malliotakis is right. There is an exact location, unless the President
says that is not where he wants it.
This is the Congress. Article I--when I first came to Washington,
Article I, it must have been said 1,000 times in my first few weeks--
Article I prerogatives, the Congress, Article I, the first section of
the Constitution, the legislative responsibilities herein lie with the
Congress of the United States.
Yet, what are we doing, Mr. Speaker? We are passing legislation,
which the President does have the right to sign or veto, in which case,
if he vetoes, it comes back here for further action by the Houses. He
gets one bite at the apple, but we are not content with that. We have
to then give him unilateral power over what we have just passed to do
whatever he wants. It is insanity.
There is no explanation for why we are not doing the original bill--
None. I am still listening, and I still haven't heard it.
I will continue to listen for the explanation. Perhaps in the close
by my colleagues and friends, we will hear why, finally, there is
something wrong with passing the original bill.
By the way, this isn't going to clear it up because this bill is not
going to become law. I will tell you what, Mr. Speaker, in a new
Congress, when there is a new majority, we will put the actual
location. We will put it in law. We will send it to the President, and
we will see whether or not he insists on not only a bill that has a
location, but insists more on the power to unilaterally do whatever he
wants.
The only way this majority is willing to do anything in this House
seems to be to ultimately give the power, complete power, to the
President to do what he chooses to do without our input.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1410
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, do you want to know why I think so many Americans have
given up on this institution? Think about what we are doing right now.
Think about this debate. I hope people see it.
We were handed something extremely rare in this building nowadays, a
finished, bipartisan bill sponsored by more than half the Members with
over 100 Members on both sides agreeing to it, and we lit it on fire.
We have basically thrown it out and put it in a dumpster.
And for what: to stroke the President's ego, to bully a vulnerable
group of people who make up less than 1 percent of the population?
The worst part is that we are doing it at a museum that is intended
to honor women and the enormous contributions of women to this country
who succeeded despite a government that failed them at times. They
overcame great obstacles. We manufactured ours. They had every excuse
to fail and made history anyway. They overcame those obstacles. We have
no excuses. Yet, here we are on the verge of failing them, once again.
They deserved better then and they deserve better now.
Mr. Speaker, I implore my colleagues one last time: Stop with the
games. Bring the bipartisan version of this bill to the floor, along
with the Latino museum build so we can finally get shovels in the
ground on The National Mall for these critically important museums and
honor the amazing people in this country who have written the chapter
of American history that we all stand on the shoulders of and whose
legacy we enjoy.
Mr. Speaker, I urge defeat of this bill. Bring back the bipartisan
bill. We will enthusiastically build it. We will put shovels in the
ground and we will build these national museums as they should be.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1329, the
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act, as introduced by my
colleague Representative Malliotakis from New York.
As we know, this year is the Nation's 250th anniversary, and we have
an opportunity to place the Women's History Museum of the Smithsonian
on The National Mall. The bill designates and takes an important step
by designating the exact location of where that museum would be on The
Mall and provides guardrails regarding the content of the museum.
Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, my colleague Representative Malliotakis
for her hard work on this issue. I encourage my colleagues to support
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 1300, the previous question is ordered
on the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further
consideration of H.R. 1329 is postponed.
____________________